Grey Skies Never End
by epjane
Summary: Someone from Jane's past reemerged unexpectedly. Set about 7-8 years after White Orchids in which Jane and Lisbon are still happily married with two children. Warning: It may contain fluff and a little drama.
1. Chapter 1

**This would be my first multichapter story. It's set in the same universe as Little Boy Blue, just about 7 years later and Elliot has a little sister.**

 **I hope you enjoy this first chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

 **Disclaimer: The Mentalist belongs to Bruno Heller.**

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"Did you see that, Uncle Pete?" seven year old Elliot Jane exclaimed, jumping up and down with excitement as the Jane family dog, Digger, barked and wagged his tail with excitement, expecting his younger master to throw the ball again.

Patrick Jane had gotten the mutt from a nearby shelter for his wife's forty-third birthday and she had let their then-two-year-old son pick a name for him. The toddler took one look at the puppy and christened him "Digger" because that was what he was obsessed with at the time. The black-and-brown German Shepherd-Labrador mix had refused to respond to any name other than Digger ever since.

"I saw that, kid. You've got good, strong arms there," Pete Barsocky replied from where he was quietly sitting on the log reading a book about elephants to Violet, Patrick and Teresa's daughter, while watching the little girl's older brother play with the dog. He really shouldn't have volunteered to look after the kids while Jane and Sam were preparing lunch for all of them; but he had to avoid Patrick Jane's eyes at all cost because one look at his face, he was definitely going to crumble like an old, termite-laden piece of wood and blurt everything out at once.

Still, offering himself to look after the Jane children had proven to be a mistake. At least for his back and hips. He was more than old enough to be their grandfather after all and could barely keep up with his friend's rambunctious children. Those two must have taken after their mother. He couldn't recall Patrick Jane being so active when he was a child. That man had always preferred to hide someplace alone to read books, a means to provide himself with education since he didn't have a formal one.

While the two Jane children were both little balls of excess energy, Violet was more observant of her surroundings than her older brother despite being only almost six years old. Both of the children were curious, as all little children were, but Violet was more so than her brother. They were also both chatterboxes, but in different ways. She tended to ask more questions than necessary when her curiosity was piqued while Elliot loved to tell people things more than ask questions. Despite that fact, Violet was a better listener than her brother and also decidedly more polite.

Both of their parents had also learnt from previous experiences that their youngest child was a little ball of fire just like her mother. An angry little princess, Jane had teased Lisbon. Lisbon never denied it and was even proud of that particular fact, even though her daughter had been much more of a hell to deal with during the terrible-two's than her son.

"That's what Mommy said, too. She taught me last weekend and Daddy said I can be a good cop like her one day! I'll show Auntie Sam later," he declared proudly, once again tossing the ball as far as he could, and then running to another spot and waiting for Digger to come back. They played the game for a while until the mutt lost interest and ran back into the house, undoubtedly to demand food from his big master. Elliot sighed, apparently still not tired even though he was sweating all over and his thick blonde waves were now plastered wetly to his forehead and nape. He went to sit beside his little sister, settling for listening to Pete read while waiting for his dad to call them in for lunch.

"Uncle Pete," Violet suddenly piped up after being a quiet listener for quite some time, tucking a stray dark curl behind her ear.

Pete looked up and smiled. "Yes, sweetie?"

"Daddy said you have an elephant named Daisy. Is it true?" she asked.

"I do, as a matter of fact," Pete started, knowing that Elliot's interest was also piqued. "Well, she isn't really mine. She belongs to the carnival and she's been there for most of her life. She loves apples – you can ask your mom about that. She met Daisy once and fed her apples. Not sure if she still remembers that, though."

"Really? Cool," Elliot commented, his sea green eyes twinkling with wonder.

"Wow," Violet said with her big emerald eyes sparkling in admiration as if the fact that her mother had met Daisy the elephant was a lifetime achievement.

"Daisy's an old girl, but she has a new friend named Peanut now," Pete continued on. "Peanut's smaller and he _loves_ peanuts. Tell you what, since our carnival is in town, maybe we can ask your mom and dad if you can go see Daisy and Peanut tomorrow."

Both of the children beamed at that piece of information and Pete instantly knew that it was a big mistake to tell them that. He should have asked Jane or Teresa first. Now they were most likely going to nag at their father into letting them go to the carnival. Before he could stop them, the children were already half-way across the field towards the house.

Pete sighed and hauled himself up. "Hey, kids. Wait up. Your old Uncle Pete can barely keep up with you!"

The children giggled but didn't stop running and promptly entered the house. Pete shook his head in amusement and caught up with them just in time to hear his friend scolding the two children. "Elliot, Violet, what did I say about running inside the house?"

Violet, being the more polite one of the two siblings, apologized sheepishly. "Sorry, Daddy," she said, her head hung in shame for a brief moment.

Elliot chose to ignore his father's admonishment completely and went straight to accomplish his mission instead. "Daddy, Uncle Pete said we could go see the carnival tomorrow," he said, putting his puppy dog look to good use.

"Oh, he did, did he?" Jane drawled, obviously not amused. Lisbon always reminded him that he shouldn't complain to her about their children's mischiefs and almost complete disregard of authority figures because it was totally his genes that made them the way they were. He had to begrudgingly admit that she was right.

Pete flinched at the glance that the younger man threw at him. It wasn't a happy look, but at least he didn't detect any hint of anger either, more of annoyance.

"Uh-huh," Elliot nodded excitedly. "Can we please go?"

Jane smiled as he set the spinach lasagna at the center of the dining table. He had learnt that his son would usually become very polite and charming when he wanted something. That little boy was a mini-version of his father when it came to manipulating people. His adorable looks alone could get anyone to get him anything and Elliot knew it, so he often used it. He had a talent alright, but it wasn't one that his parents were exactly willing to encourage.

"I suppose we can," Jane answered carefully. His children cheered before he could finish, so he quickly added, "But you have to ask Mommy first. If she says okay, then we can go."

Elliot and Violet seemed somewhat confident that their mother would say yes. "Okay!" they chorused.

"Right. Who wants pasta?" Jane offered, adopting a cheerful tone, and both of his children perked up at the mention of pasta. He knew that they both loved it, especially since he always made sure that every pasta dish he made contained tonnes of cheese. Give them anything with cheese and they would devour it, even broccoli or asparagus. He watched and smiled as the kids quickly scrambled onto their seats and waited with anticipation.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he also noticed that Sam was trying to kill Pete with her glares. Something was definitely up with those two. He had observed that they had been acting weird since they arrived that morning – Sam had been trying to avoid his eyes and Pete had readily volunteered to look after the kids in spite of his previous complaints about how he was too old to keep up with the Jane children. He wasn't about to ruin a good lunch over that; he could always confront them later.

After lunch, the kids became sleepy and tired – and also cranky, in Violet's case – so Jane put them to bed for their afternoon naps. On his way out of Elliot's bedroom, he almost tripped over Digger, who had chosen a spot between the children's opposing bedrooms, acting as a guard. It was a bad habit that both he and Teresa couldn't make him change. He took one look at the dog's large dark eyes and immediately relented, deciding that he could scold him later.

Jane came down the stairs to find the Barsocky's arguing in whispers. They both had their backs to him which prevented him from discreetly reading their lips, so he decided to just let them know of his presence by clearing his throat. Sam and Pete stopped their almost silent argument and turned around quickly at the sound, attempting to fool him with a pair of innocent smiles.

"Everything alright?" he asked coyly, knowing that they would just blatantly lie to him.

"Yes," they answered unconvincingly at the same time, exchanging a very brief glance with each other that they thought was subtle enough for Patrick Jane not to notice.

"Unbelievable. Even after all this time, you still bother lying to me. I'm going to let that slide, since you're both my close friends and all," Jane said, shaking his head. "Now, tell me what's going on. The truth, please."

He gave them a pointed look. Sam crossed her arms defensively at first while Pete watched them stare each other down. Seeing that Jane wasn't about to give up any time soon, she sighed and relented.

"Can we please sit down first?" Pete suggested, already moving towards the couch, wincing when he dropped himself onto the comfortable cushions. "My back's killing me. Those kids of yours are so… uh, active, especially your son."

Jane grinned. He himself had suffered back pains on more than one occasion back when the kids were younger, especially after Elliot learned to move around. The then-infant boy loved to hide himself in small spaces and had given his father hell by refusing to get out, and thus forced his dad to get him out himself. Despite Jane's annoyance, the precocious baby knew that it made his mother laugh, so he kept doing it. Thankfully, he literally grew out of the habit soon after.

"Serves you right for keeping things from me," he teased his friend, settling for the armchair. Pete huffed and crossed his arms sulkily as his wife sat just next to him.

The atmosphere in the room changed quickly. Sam looked nervous as she wrung her hands on her lap and so did Pete. Sensing that his wife wasn't going to start speaking soon, he took a deep breath and started the conversation.

"So," Pete began, clasping his hands on his lap. He quickly lost his nerves and nudged his wife's arm with his shoulder to urge her to continue for him instead. She rolled her eyes, but cleared her throat, a signal that she was about to start the explanation.

"We were in San Diego for a few days last week," Sam told him, her face indicating that the topic of their imminent chat wasn't a joking matter. "Someone came to the carnival grounds, looking for us. Pete and I couldn't believe it either, but he was there – not looking too well, but alive. Pete and I didn't want him there because we were worried he'd ask questions about you, but the other folks are okay with him being around because he used to be in the business, you know, so they let him stay."

Jane suddenly regretted making Sam and Pete tell the truth. He had an inkling about who Sam was talking about, but he denied it and told himself that it could also very well be about Danny Ruskin and not _that man_. His logic told him that if it were Danny, Sam and Pete wouldn't be tiptoeing so carefully around the topic, but the illogical side of his mind tried to tell him otherwise. For all he cared, the other guy had been dead for more than twenty years.

"Patrick, your old man is alive," Sam finally dropped the bomb. "He _did_ ask about you, but we haven't told him anything because we thought it's not our place. I don't know how much he knows about you, but I don't think he knows that you live in Austin. We do know that he's sick, though. He's trying to hide it, but we know. Pete thinks it's cancer, but no one knows for sure except maybe himself."

Jane didn't know what to feel. He hadn't seen his father since he left the carnival and their relationship had been strained since far before that. He wouldn't know how to act if he had to face his estranged father again. Not that he had any obligation to do so anyway, but if he were to take the kids to the carnival grounds, he would have to consider the possibility of bumping into the man. Of course, he had the option of not going and maybe let Pete and Sam take his children instead, but the chance of that happening was slim to none because his Lisbon was a fierce mama bear who was not to be messed with. While he knew that she trusted the people that he considered family, she still preferred her children to be taken care of by herself or her husband unless they were both unavailable to do so. She was definitely not going to accept a cowardly reason like avoiding his father.

"Hey, you okay?" Pete asked, concern clear in his tone, forcing him to snap out of his inner turmoil. Jane forced a smile.

"To be honest, I don't know," he replied truthfully. "You two were there; you know what he was like. You also know how I feel about that man and you know what he'd done to me. I'm still not sure if I want to expose my new family to him. Of course, I have the choice of not meeting him at all, but I don't want to hide things from my children. They deserve to know their grandfather."

"So you're going to see your father?" Sam asked tentatively.

"I will take my children to the carnival," he carefully answered. "They shouldn't have their fun taken away just because I have daddy issues. However, I am not going to deliberately see him. If I happen to bump into him, only then I will talk to him."

"You know he's going to find a way to try to see you, Patrick," Sam pointed out.

"We can talk about the what if's later. I still have to discuss this with Teresa before making any more decisions."

He made a mental note to tell Lisbon everything about his father tonight. He had purposefully avoided talking about his parents for twenty years. Lisbon hadn't told him much about hers either and it had become a mutual understanding between them. They had both agreed not to dwell on the past and to think of the present and future instead, but now his past was catching up on him.

"You do that," Pete said, nodding. He paused before smirking and teasingly adding, "What would we men do without our women, eh?"

"You better keep that in mind, Pete Barsocky," his wife quipped. Pete raised his hands in surrender fashion and Jane chuckled.

Deep down, he felt like running off in the Airstream to somewhere else peaceful just to mull over the recent news. He was a coward like that. If it weren't for his dearest Teresa Lisbon, he didn't dare to think of where he might be right at that moment. Most probably six feet under. But here he was now, with a new wife and two children, finally content with his life. He wasn't going to ruin it by hiding things from his wife. He had also made a vow to Lisbon when he married her, that he would never run away again, and he would try with all his might not to break it.

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 **Constructive reviews would be very appreciated! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hi, sorry for the long wait. In the past year, I was busy with work and I have moved to another country for work.**

 **I really apologise for the really long gap between the first and second chapter.**

 **So here's chapter 2, I hope you guys enjoy it.**

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By the time Elliot and Violet woke up from their two-hour afternoon nap, the Barsocky's were ready to leave. The carny couple had deliberately waited so that they could bid their farewell. Watching Violet getting all teary eyed as Sam made a promise to call and Elliot pouting while Pete advised him to be a good boy, Jane couldn't imagine how it would have been had Pete and Sam left before the kids woke up. They'd probably throw tantrums over it.

While he enjoyed every aspect of fatherhood, he wasn't particularly fond of tantrums. Violet alone could raise hell with it. He'd never faced both of the kids throwing tantrums at the same time, but he didn't dare imagine it. The idea of it alone made him shudder. He'd gladly face them both if Teresa was around because she was always better at handling the children's occasional temper tantrums.

The four of them stood on the porch as they watched the rusty old trailer belonging to the Barsocky's made its way down the driveway. Violet slipped her right hand into her father's left as he hugged Elliot close to his other side. Violet sniffled quietly and Jane felt bad instantly. They had clearly forgotten that there was a possibility that they would be allowed to go to the carnival the next day, but he hadn't discussed that with Lisbon so he didn't want to make any decisions just yet.

"Hey, what do you say if we take a walk to the park, huh?" he offered. He looked down at his two children, both wearing forlorn expressions. Elliot was acting strong, refusing to shed a single tear, but he nodded in reply. Violet let out a quiet "okay", wiping the tears off of her face with the sleeve of her T-shirt.

"And afterwards, we'll pick Mommy up at the office and have dinner together," he suggested, attempting to sound more cheerful. Digger seemed to approve that plan as he wagged his tail more enthusiastically and let his tongue roll out, grinning happily. That seemed to lift the mood up a little.

"I'll get the frisbee!" Elliot exclaimed, running back into the house to get the aforementioned toy. Jane exhaled in relief. He'd managed to avoid one major meltdown, but then realized that there was another one left when he looked down at his little girl. He sighed. Violet was always the moodier child. It was going to take a little more effort to console her, but for the moment, if she was content with holding on to his hand for comfort, he'd let her.

Elliot returned a moment later with the frisbee and a worn tennis ball along with a small bag of dog treats for Digger, grinning enthusiastically at his dad. Jane let go of Violet's hand for a moment to grab the leash and hook the end of it to Digger's collar. Digger was an obedient dog most of the times, but there was nothing wrong with being cautious. By the time he was finished, Elliot was jumping up and down in excitement.

"Let's go!" he urged impatiently, running down the steps ahead of them. Jane shook his head in amusement. When he was acting impatient like this, he resembled his mother so much. Digger supported his younger master dutifully by trying to pull forward, almost tripping Jane over and hurling him down the steps. The dog immediately realized that he had done something wrong and put his big eyes to good use, whining pitifully to avoid being scolded.

Digger's silly antics successfully made Violet giggle. Despite the annoyance Jane felt, the sound of his daughter's laughter made him smile. He decided to let the almost-accident slide and patted the dog's head before following his son.

"Daddy, can we get some ice cream later?" Violet piped up. He looked down to see her large eyes aimed at him, a hopeful smile on her face and, while her emerald-green eyes still shone with tears, there was also a mischievous glint in them now. He should be saying no, because Teresa would scold him for letting their children have dessert before dinner, but relenting would make the situation better.

"Sure," he said decisively. He could face his wife later. Violet cheered.

"But you have to share with me or your brother," he added, immediately earning protests from the two children. Violet made a face while Elliot produced gagging noises.

"But I don't want to share with Elliot. That's icky!" she complained.

" _You're_ icky! You have girly germs," Elliot replied, looking offended. His sister responded by sticking her tongue out at him.

"You didn't seem to mind sharing your chocolate ice cream with Mom the other day," Jane reminded him. He just couldn't resist teasing his son.

"Mommy is not a girl, Daddy," the boy countered indignantly, as if it was obvious and his logic made sense at all.

"Yes, she is. Mommy's a girl like me!" Violet argued.

"No, she's not," Elliot insisted adamantly. As amused as he was, Jane decided to cut in before it could turn into a full on fight.

"If Mommy's not a girl, what is she then?" he asked. Elliot looked at him with wide eyes.

"She's just Mommy!" he confidently answered with a matter-of-fact tone. Jane chuckled. At least his children were now no longer in a sullen mood anymore and more of in a playful one instead. He let his children argue a little more as he ushered them into the dark blue Chevy Suburban that he and Lisbon had gotten for their expanding family just before Violet was born. He was fine with it as long as it didn't turn into a physical fight. He'd had enough stress for the day.

mmmmm

When Jane pulled up just across the park, the playground area was already occupied with young mothers and their children. The mothers were sitting around a table, obviously gossiping, while their children played in the playground. He didn't recognize a few of them, but familiar with most.

"Oh, Finn and Andy are here, Daddy," Elliot announced excitedly. Jane recognized the names that belonged to two of Elliot's best friends.

He looked to the back to see his two energetic children had released themselves from the confines of seat belts and were pressing their noses against the window, eager to see whether their respective friends were present to play with them.

"Kelly, Peyton and Tanya too!" Violet informed him, listing all of her best friends that she'd made since pre-school.

"Yes, yes. Patience is a virtue, my young Padawans," Jane told them, unbuckling his own seatbelt and got out of the car to let his children out of the backseat. He was met with confused stares when he opened the door. He didn't elaborate further and merely helped them out. He definitely needed to educate them in the fine form of art that was Star Wars one of these days.

"Daddy, you're slow," Elliot commented as his father was struggling to get Digger out.

Jane rolled his eyes when his daughter chimed her agreement in a moment later. He shook his head in disbelief. If his wife were here right now, she would have laughed her butt off.

He had to begrudgingly admit that she was right when she'd told him that they shouldn't have been allowed to procreate because they had certainly created two little monsters. She had first said it four years ago when Elliot was two and Violet was only six months old. Elliot was being particularly cranky and clingy at the time because his parents' attention had been occupied by the then-sick infant Violet. Back then, when she made the comment jokingly, he'd laughed it off and told her that she only said that because it had been a particularly tiring day for them. If Lisbon told him that again someday, he would readily agree to it. Their little ones were definitely little demons in disguise.

They quickly crossed the road and the children immediately left their father's sides to join their respective friends, followed by Digger. The dog's barks caught the attention of the group of women. They looked happy to see their favorite stay-at-home dad, but Jane also noticed the look of relief on their faces. They waved him over and he increased the pace of his steps, grinning sunnily.

"Hello, ladies. How are you this fine summer afternoon?" he greeted them.

"Patrick, you have no idea how glad we are to see you," one of the women, Lydia, said, genuine concern etched on her face. The other women nodded in agreement. He frowned.

"What's going on?" he asked. They hesitated a moment and Lydia was the one who spoke since she was some sort of the leader of the group.

"We're worried of that homeless man sitting on that bench over there. We've never seen him before and that makes us nervous. Do you mind talking to him, or maybe tell him to leave?"

His eyes flicked to the aforementioned man who was sitting on one of the benches that faced towards the duck pond. The old man did appear homeless, but he looked carefree and was most likely just enjoying the view while feeding the ducks. Jane doubted that he even meant any harm, but he understood their concern.

"Fine," he sighed, before striding toward the stranger.

The man didn't move as he approached, but when Jane was only a few feet away from him, he turned around. Jane immediately froze. However long it had been since, he would never forget the face. He couldn't believe his eyes. The other man looked the same as he did years ago, only with additional wrinkles and completely silver hair, but the smile was the same. Though, the shifty glint that he used to have in his blue eyes was gone. He looked in peace, a state that Patrick Jane had never thought to ever find this person in.

"Hello, Paddy," the older Jane said. Jane swallowed the bile that was suddenly rising up his throat. He pursed his lips and gritted his teeth, causing the muscles in his jaws to twitch dangerously.

"How did you find me?" he asked coldly.

"Nice to see you too, my boy," Alex Jane said, grinning confidently. "I looked you up on the phone book, by the way. Handy stuff. I know it doesn't guarantee that you'd be here, but I guess I got lucky."

"It has been more than twenty-five years, _Alex_. I left you for a reason. Why would you think I'd let you back into my life just because you're dying?" Jane spat.

That wiped the smile off of Alex's face. "Look, Patrick. I came here in peace. I may not have been a good father to you, but I want to make things right. I'm not asking you to forgive me. I just want to spend my last moments with the last family I have. Is that too much to ask?"

Jane pinched the bridge of his nose, not knowing what to decide. He took a glance over his shoulder and found that some of the women were watching them while the others kept their eyes on the playing children. He put on a fake smile and waved to them so that they were not alarmed.

"Let's find somewhere else more private," he said when he turned back to his father.

Alex hesitated. "What about your, uh, kids?" he asked.

"They'll be fine. My neighbors are looking after them," he replied impatiently. Alex nodded and stood up, dumping the rest of the breadcrumbs in his hand into the pond, before following his son's lead to a spot behind an ash tree. Despite old age and cancer, he looked like he was still in rather fit condition.

After he made sure that they were safely obscured from prying eyes by the tree trunk, Jane didn't speak right away. He stared at the ground for a moment, arms folded over his chest in a defensive stance. When he looked back up at his father, he seemed to have made a decision of what he was about to say.

"Okay, listen," Jane began. "I can't make a quick decision when it comes to my family. _If_ I'm about to let you get involved in my life again, I have to consider the fact that my life now includes my wife and children, and I can't make decisions without talking to my wife first. Pete Barsocky told me that you're staying at the fairground. My children want to go see the carnival tomorrow. If my wife agrees, we will see you at the carnival. Are you okay with that?"

Alex merely nodded, not knowing how else to response.

"Good. Good," Jane said stiffly. "In the meantime, please don't come back here. You make those poor women nervous."

He was about to leave when Alex spoke again, "How do I know that you're going to do what you just told me?"

Jane's sea green eyes flashed dangerously. What gave him the right to question his integrity? Him, of all people? "You don't. You just have to take my word for it."

He then simply turned around without waiting for a response from the other man and returned to the playground where his children were still playing, leaving the old man still standing behind the large tree. He forced a smile on his face and ran back to the group of mothers.

"What took you so long, Patrick? We were getting nervous," Fiona asked, her face etched with genuine worry. She was one of the less aggressive mothers and was rather close to him and Teresa because her son Finn was one of Elliot's best friends. Both he and Lisbon liked her and her long copper-colored hair reminded them a little of Grace van Pelt.

"He was a little difficult to coax, but it's nothing to worry about," he assured them. Some of them didn't look convinced, but they let it go once he flashed them another smile, trying to make it look more genuine this time. He was relieved when they didn't press on and went back to chattering about the latest celebrity gossip a moment later.

The moment the others' attentions were shifted somewhere else, the smile slipped off of Jane's face. He looked over to the playground, where Violet and her three friends were building a castle in the sandbox with some help from Digger, and Elliot was once again climbing up the ladder of the slide with his best friends following close behind. They looked so happy and he didn't want to take that away from them by letting Alex Jane into their lives. That man was poison.

Jane couldn't remember Alex Jane being a good person. For all he knew, Alex was around only to provide him food and shelter, but was never an affectionate parent to his only son, even since before Maggie Jane passed away. He treated him as if he was an asset in his cons, teaching the precocious boy how to cold read people and manipulate them.

Jane had promised himself that he would never treat any of his children that way. He wished his father had stayed dead like he was supposed to so that he didn't have to deal with this problem. It was a cruel thought, he knew, but he just wanted to protect his children from having to go through his childhood.

He didn't realize how forlorn he'd looked until he noticed Fiona's concerned gaze at him. "Are you okay, Patrick?" she asked. "You look a little pale."

He glanced around to see if anyone else was paying attention. Thankfully, they weren't.

"I'm fine. Everything's fine," he answered, plastering his infamous million dollar smile on his face again to convince her just as much as he was trying to convince himself.

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 **I have started chapter 3. I hope I don't hit a writer's block and can update soon.**

 **Reviews are very appreciated. Thank you.**


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